Tens of thousands of people remain trapped in the Kayah State capital of Loikaw as junta troops block roads to prevent civilians fleeing amid a resistance offensive to take the town, Loikaw residents and volunteers said.
Loikaw is the center of junta administration in Kayah State and has around 50,000 residents, including those displaced by fighting since the 2021 military coup. Volunteer groups said at least 35,000 people now need to evacuate the town.
Junta warplanes conducted at least six airstrikes on Monday morning, according to volunteers and residents.
Allied resistance forces made up of the Karenni Army (KA), Karenni Nationalities Defense Force (KNDF), Karenni National People’s Liberation Front (KNPLF) and People’s Defense Forces launched an offensive dubbed Operation 11.11 in Kayah on Nov. 11.
The offensive has so far seized seven junta outposts in Kayah’s Loikaw and Demoso and neighboring southern Shan State’s Pekon Township.
Meanwhile, allied resistance forces are attacking junta bases in Loikaw in a bid to seize the town.
In response to the resistance attacks, junta troops are conducting indiscriminate shelling and airstrikes that have killed around two dozen residents, said a local human rights group.
Rescue and evacuation efforts in Loikaw are being hindered by the junta barring volunteer groups from evacuating trapped civilians or transporting injured people to hospital during the clashes, Loikaw volunteers said.
“Junta troops have blocked all roads near their outposts and bases. Many people need urgent evacuation but they banned us from evacuating civilians. They also seized two ambulances from a volunteer group on Sunday”, a Loikaw volunteer said.
Fuel shortages are another major challenge for evacuation of civilians, he added.
“We are running out of fuel and cannot find fresh supplies anywhere. But we are still receiving numerous phone calls from trapped residents seeking assistance for evacuation.”
KNDF leader Khun Be Du urged Loikaw residents to temporarily evacuate to safe areas as resistance forces attempt to seize the capital.
A fierce clash broke out at a long-held junta base in Loikaw University on Tuesday morning, residents said.
“Fighting has been ongoing for four days in every part of the town. They [junta troops] have bombed and shelled residential areas countless times,” a Loikaw resident said.
Indiscriminate junta shelling since Saturday has killed at least 20 civilians, including four women in Loikaw and neighboring southern Shan State’s Moebye town, the Karenni Human Rights Group (KHRG) said.
A 17-year-old volunteer also died of shrapnel injuries from a junta shell while assisting in evacuation of trapped residents.
Another 15 people including a child sustained injuries in the shelling.
The death toll is expected to rise as heavy shelling and airstrikes continue to ravage the town.
The Irrawaddy was unable to verify the precise number of civilians killed so far.
The rights group also claimed that at least 15 people including a monk were detained by junta troops in Loikaw.
The junta has turned to shelling civilian targets including camps for internally displaced people (IDPs) as its ground troops suffer heavier and heavier losses in clashes.
On November 9, junta shells targeting residential areas of Loikaw killed at least two people, including a 10-year-old child.
